Thursday, April 22, 2010

Hey, if it worked in La Grange...

The great thing about politics is that nothing has to make a lick of sense for a major news story to develop. And that's exactly what has happened with Republican senatorial candidate Sue Lowden's admittedly silly suggestion that patients could barter with physicians for medical care.
"Before we all started having health care, in the olden days, our grandparents, they would bring a chicken to the doctor," Lowden told a local news station. "They would say I'll paint your house."

The suggestion has now been derisively labeled "Chickens for Checkups," and I have to wonder if I'm the only person who thinks she, being from Nevada and all, may be confusing her grandparents' doctor visits with trips to the infamous Chicken Ranch?
As the Great Depression hit and the economy fell, Miss Jessie was forced to lower her prices. Though initially she still had plenty of clients, as times grew harder, customers were not so plentiful and the girls grew hungry. Miss Jessie therefore began the "poultry standard" of charging "one chicken for one screw." Soon chickens were everywhere, and the establishment became known as the Chicken Ranch.

So, what we have is a Nevada politician suggesting a barter system that includes poultry, from a state with a working brothel known as the Chicken Ranch, which lifted its name from the Best Little Whorehouse in Texas that legend has it used a barter system that included chickens. I don't know anything about Lowden's positions on the issues, so I'm not going to comment on her qualifications as a candidate, but I guarantee before all is said and done she'll wish she'd have chosen her words more carefully...

Now Playing: Clandestine The Ale is Dear

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